I really like listener compiled lists. Critics' lists are cool for finding those gems I missed, but the listener lists are more representative of what people were actually listening to and give a better feel for the year.

ps Can't wait to see what Brandon Stosuy lists for his favorite albums of 2013!

FAVORITE ALBUMS

CarcassCarcass - Surgical Steel
Try to name one band that took 18 years off and returned with an album of absolute burners. I can only think of one: Carcass. In fact, these songs are better than the entries on their final record Swansong and, depending on who you're talking to, maybe the much revered Heartwork too. 2013's greatest achievement.

Listen To: "Unfit for Human Consumption"

FramtidFramtid - Defeat of Civilization
Guitars like power tools, bulldozing rhythms and vocals that roar! Eleven years removed from their last entry, this LP of Japanese crust-punk with touches of metal is a worthy successor to Under the Ashes, featuring stellar songwriting and an unrelenting assault for the duration of its twenty-plus minutes. This shit is the hardest.

Listen To: "Nuclear Power Genocide"

Inter ArmaInter Arma - Sky Burial
In the tail end of 2012, I got an email from the guys in Inter Arma with a link to the tunes that would eventually become Sky Burial. On the strength of those tracks, which mixed grooves, black metal and southern stylings, I forwarded that record over to Relapse, who eventually signed the band and released one of my favorite albums of the year. I still love this record more than a year later.
Listen To: "Sky Burial"

RadioactivityRadioactivity - Radioactivity
The Marked Men is still Texas's best kept secret. The Denton punk crew released some of the most memorable melodic punk ever recorded, and Radioactivity bears a striking resemblance to those older releases (and some of its key personnel). Some of the catchiest tracks of 2013.

Listen To: "The Last"

Raspberry BulbsRaspberry Bulbs - Deformed Worship
Raspberry Bulbs is the line that connects Christian Death to Darkthrone. If deathpunk continued on its darkly ways, getting more and more extreme, eventually it might end up at the weird strand of goth, black metal and clean-tone punk rock on Deformed Worship. Sparse, shrouded in evil, and insanely good.

Listen To: "Lusty Climbing"

Tim HeckerTim Hecker - Virgins
Here's a little pillow talk for the ladies. For a short while, much like other ambient records, I used to sleep with Virgins on. After a few nights I noticed that I wasn't falling asleep right away, I was following along with the songs, something not so welcome at 3:30 a.m. on a Tuesday with work early the next morning. Virgins' experimental/ambient with orchestral touches, noise, and synth was just too interesting to be relegated to background music.
Listen To: "Virginal I"

Clandestine BlazeClandestine Blaze - Harmony of Struggle
Probably the most traditional of all the picks here, Clandestine Blaze is raw, Finnish black metal out via Northern Heritage. No frills, Harmony of Struggle packs in nine new tracks and a whole lot of hatred into 39 minutes, making it one of CB's best releases in years. This and 2012's With Hearts Toward None by MGLA stayed in high rotation for me in 2013.

Listen To: "Wings of the Archangel"

Earl SweatshirtEarl Sweatshirt - Doris
Lyrics alone, Earl Sweatshirt's earnest and introspective wordplay is enough to make him one of the most interesting of his OFWGKTA team. Yet Earl's cadence, delivery, and songwriting on Doris drives that point home and the chunk-y yet sparse production, a rarity in the age of dominant 32nd-note 808 hi-hats, helps to keep his vocal as the centerpiece for the record.
Listen To: "Chum"

Destruction UnitDestruction Unit - Deep Trip
Punk rock on the verge of collapse through layers of psychedelic noise, Arizona's DU are not only one of the best live bands in the US right now, but have a similarly interesting record. Don't miss Void either, it definitely has its moments.

Listen To: "Bumpy Road"

Swearin'Swearin - Surfing Strange
Goddamnit, this record is a virus. It's like a superbug made up of the best bits of Weezer, Julianna Hatfield, Dinosaur Jr, Pavement, and a zillion 90s bands. Surfing Strange isn't reinventing the wheel here, but if you like any of the previously mentioned then you cannot listen to this album just once.

Listen To: "Mermaid"

WindhandWindhand - SOMA
Dorothea's bluesy vocals and the Electric-Wizard-y doom got to me on their self-titled LP, and Windhand's SOMA is more of the same. No frills or fancy tricks… just good songwriting and memorable riffs.

Also, when Brandon Stosuy reveals his list... save us the hassle and keep it to yourself.

Originally Posted by bmack86

And it's been long established that Chris hates fun.

Originally Posted by Hatinisbad

I took my niece this year and it was her first Coachella. It was so fun to see it through her eyes. She thought it felt like a magical scene from Shreck. The one where all the fairy tale creatures meet for the first time in Shreck's swamp.

B/c he's got better taste in music than you. You probably haven't listened to half of the stuff that's on there. Now go educate yourself!

That is not what this thread is for.

Originally Posted by bmack86

And it's been long established that Chris hates fun.

Originally Posted by Hatinisbad

I took my niece this year and it was her first Coachella. It was so fun to see it through her eyes. She thought it felt like a magical scene from Shreck. The one where all the fairy tale creatures meet for the first time in Shreck's swamp.